Automatic voltage control



W.'S. HARLEY.

AUTOMATiC VOLTAGE CONTROL.

APPLICATION mm SEPT. 19. 1911.

1,328,1 9. Patented Jan..13,192 0.

ATENT O Flltltl.

WILLIAM S. HARLEY, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTOR 00., OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

, AUTOMATIC VOLTAGE CONTROL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 13, 1920.

Application filed September 19, 1917. Serial No. 192,118.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it k npwn that I, WILLiAM S. HARLEY, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Milwaitkee, in th county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, "have invented cersuch machines, but also to decrease the amount of unnecessary weight to thereby procure a relatively light and compact machine. In carrying out this idea it has become more or less customary to omit the storage battery and rely upon an electric generator for providing the necessary current for lighting the lamps of the motorcycle and supplying the engine thereof with ignition charges.

It has been found, however, that because of the. greatly varying speeds at which a motorcycle is capable of being driven that the voltage of the generator constantly changes and frequently increases to such a degree that the electric lamps will burn out.

The primary object of this invention is, therefore, to provide a controlling mechanism whereby the voltage generated by the generator will remain constant irrespective of the speed at which the engine of the motorcycle is driven.

'An additional object is to provide means whereby the timer for controlling the sparking of the engine will be run at different speeds which always bear the same ratio to the changing speeds of the engine, while at the same time the generator is being driven to a constant speed, both of said parts being actuated by the same operating mechanism.

A still furtherobject is to provide a simply constructed and very compact voltage controlling mechanism, which can be conveniently inclosed in a suitable housing and will occu y a relatively-small space on the motor-cycle.

l/Vith the foregoing and other obvious advantages and objects in view, the invention resides inthe novel features of construction, combination and arrangement or parts, which will be hereinafter more particularly described and claimed, and shown in the drawings wherein the figure represents a vertical, longitudinal, sectional view of a voltage controlling mechanism and associated parts, the electric generator of conventional design being indicated by light lines.

Since it is both necessary to make practically all of the moving parts of the motorcycle dust-proof and compact, the electric generator (l, which is used in connection with th present invention, is inclosed in a substantially cylindrical housing 1 having a base 2 by which it may be attached to any suitable support on a motor-cycle frame. The casing 1 has its end closed by the end walls 3and 4 respectively, the latter being removable, which are centrally apertured to receive ball or other bearing races 5 in which the outer ends of the armature shaft (3 are journaled.

Both of the ends of the armature shaft extend a considerable distance beyond the ends of the casing and one end has a collar 7 fixed thereto fromwhich extends an annular flange 8 and carried by the flange are two pairs of ears 9, the same being prcferably diametrically opposed. Pivoted between each pair of cars 9 is a governor arm 10, the same being pivoted nearer one end than the other; the short end is fashioned to form a finger 11, while the other end carries a ball 12.v These governor arms 10 and the parts to which they ar attached form a centrifugal governor of conventional design. This mechanism is inclosed within a sheet metal cap 13 mounted on one end of the housing 1.

The fingers ll'for the governor arms are.

designed to act upon a flanged nut 14 which is adjustably disposed by means of screw threads on a clutch actuating rod 15, which is slid-ably disposed in the longitudinally. extending bore of the hollow, armature shaft (5. Surrounding the rod 15 and disposed be: tween the nut 14.- and the, adjacent end of the shaft (5, which terminates within the collar 7 is an expan'sile spring 16, the same being adapted to normally force the rod outwardly and retain it in engagement with 'lar 19 to house said clutch as shown.

the governor arms 10. The nut 14; is retained in adjusted positions by means of a locking nut 14.

The opposite end of the rod 15 carries a conical shaped head 17 for engagement with the disk 18 of a multiple disk clutch 18. This clutch forms a connection between a substantially continuously rotating spur gear 19 andv the armature shaft 6. The

clutch 18 operates similar to the clutches of like design, the disks 18 being keyed to the end of the armature shaft 6, while the disks'lS are similarly attached to the gear 19, which has an outwardly extending e il- 1e gear 19 is continuously in mesh with a second spur gearQO mounted within the gear casing 21 by which rotation of the crank shaft of the engine may be transmitted to the electric generator shaft 6.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that even though the engine is operating at high rate of speed the armature shaft may be revolved at a constant speed because the clutc1r18 will be controlled by the governor at the opposite end of the rod 15. In practice when the motor-Cycle engine is operating at a relatively slow speed there will be practically no slippage between the disks of the clutch, but on the other hand, as the speed of the engine increases, the amount of slippage in the clutch will, also, increase, and. thereby maintain the rotation of the armature shaft practically at a constant rate of revolution.

Since it is essential that the speed of the timer which controls the ignition of the gases within the engine cylinders be in direct proportion to the speed of the engine, and masmuch as it is advisable to procure as com pact an arrangement ,of the parts as possible in a motor-cycle, the means for rotating the armature shaft is,also, adapted to drive the timer T without interference with the proper operation of the generator. This arrangement is carried out by the provision of a. sleeve 22 loosely disposed on the armature shaft 6 adjacent the clutch 18. This sleeve is extended through the opening in the end wall l of the housing 1 and extends to both sides of the bearing races 5 supported by said wall. That portion of the sleeve which projects out of the housing 1 is disposed in the gear casing 21, the same being in abutting relation with the wall 4, and has the gear 19 keyed thereon, as illustrated. The opposite end of the sleeve, or that portion within worm gear 24: carried by the inner end of the timer shaft 25. Thus the timer is directly geared to the spur gear 20 and through it to the crank shaft of the engine. Thus the speed of the timer will always be proportionate to the engine speed.

From the foregoing description the principles and mechanical operation of my invention may be readily understood, and it will be obviousthat the same will be an infinite improvement over the old method of directly connecting the armature shaft with the engine shaft. The provision of the adjustable nuts 14 and 14 allow the governor to be regulated to permit ,the running speed of the generator to bei readily varied and thereby allow the voltage of said generator to be varied.

Various changes may be made in the form and proportion of the several parts of my invention aside from the embodiment illustrated without departing from the underlying principles as set forth in the following claims.

I claim 1. An apparatus of the class described comprising, in combination, a hollow armature shaft, a rod slidably disposed in said shaft, a governor on one end of said rod, a clutch on the other end of said rod, a sleeve loosely mounted on said shaft adjacent said clutch, a rotatable device connected with the sleeve, and means for rotating the sleeve.

An apparatus of the class described including a hollow armature shaft, a rod slidably disposed in said shaft, a governor on one end of the shaft connected with the rod, a journaled sleeve receiving the other end portion of the armature shaft, a timer shaft, a drive connection between said sleeve and the timer shaft, a gear on the sleeve: having portions extended from its periphery outwardly in the direction of its axis, means for driving said gear, and co-acting clutch members secured to said extensions of the gear and to the armature shaft and adapted for operation by movement of said rod.

In testimony that I claim the foregoi I have hereunto set my hand at Milwau e, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin.

WILLIAM S. HARLEY. 

